--- type: Static title: Standard rate card description: The hourly rates National Digital charges for engineering, design, QA and content work outside a retainer. AUD, ex GST, invoiced monthly in arrears. resource: https://nationaldigital.com.au/services/rate-card/ tags: - software development hourly rate australia - senior software engineer hourly rate - software agency rate card - time and materials rates timestamp: '2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z' language: en-AU publisher: National Digital author: Cameron Young authorRole: CEO datePublished: '2026-10-15' dateModified: '2026-10-15' pillar: static canonical: https://nationaldigital.com.au/services/rate-card/ --- _Home — Services — Standard rate card_ # Standard rate card **The hourly rates we charge for work outside a retainer or a fixed-fee engagement. All rates are in Australian dollars and exclude GST.** - [Book a call](https://calendly.com/cameron-at-national-digital/discovery) - [See the retainer tiers](/services/product-support/) *Time and materials* ## Hourly rates by role. These rates apply to work we invoice by the hour. Each role is invoiced at its own rate for the hours it works. - **Product and Delivery Consultant** — $275/hour - **Senior Software Engineer** — $255/hour - **Software Engineer** — $195/hour - **UI/UX Designer** — $195/hour - **Quality Assurance Engineer** — $145/hour - **Content Editor** — $120/hour All rates are in Australian dollars and exclude GST. We invoice the hours worked each month in arrears. A Product Support retainer unlocks a discount on these rates for work beyond its committed days. ## When these rates apply These rates apply to work we invoice by the hour. That covers a defined piece of work quoted in hours, work beyond the committed days of a retainer, and ongoing work for a client who has not taken a retainer. One card applies to every client. A different rate applies only where a signed agreement sets one, and it applies to that client only. ## How we invoice We invoice the hours worked each month, in arrears. Each role is invoiced at its own rate, so an invoice shows the hours for each role on the work. Every rate excludes GST, and GST is added on the invoice. We price by the hour and do not sell day rates. Where a retainer refers to a day, it means eight hours of the team's time. ## Who does what A piece of work is staffed with the roles it needs. A quote lists the roles and the hours for each. - **Product and Delivery Consultant.** Scopes the work and runs the delivery. Your point of contact on priorities and progress. - **Senior Software Engineer.** Designs the architecture, builds the hard parts and reviews the rest. Responsible for the platform in production. - **Software Engineer.** Builds features, integrations and fixes under senior review. - **UI/UX Designer.** Designs the screens and the flows between them, and hands over the specification the engineers build from. - **Quality Assurance Engineer.** Writes and runs the test plans, maintains the automated regression suite and signs off each release. - **Content Editor.** Writes and edits the words in the product and on the site, and loads content into the CMS. ## A retainer lowers these rates [Product Support](/services/product-support/) is a retainer that commits a set number of team days each month, from one day to twenty. The committed days are priced below the card, and the retainer unlocks a discount of 5% to 15% on these rates for work beyond them. The Product Support page sets out the four tiers, the notice period for each and how unused days carry over. [AI Visibility Management](/services/ai-visibility-management/) is a fixed monthly service for one brand. It includes two committed senior engineering days each month, so the measurement and the changes that follow it do not run on this card. ## Fixed-fee engagements Four engagements are priced as a fixed fee: the [Technology Roadmap](/services/technology-roadmap/), the [Platform Health Check](/services/platform-health-check/), the [Product Development Plan](/services/product-development-plan/) and the [AI Automation Assessment](/services/ai-automation-assessment/). Each fee is credited against the work that follows it. The [services page](/services/) lists the fee for each. A build quoted from a Product Development Plan carries a fixed quote. That quote is built from these rates and the hours we estimate for each role. ## Questions buyers ask ### Are the rates negotiable? No. One card applies to every client. A different rate applies only where a signed agreement sets one, and it applies to that client only. ### Do the rates include GST? No. Every rate on this page excludes GST. GST is added on the invoice. ### How do I get a lower rate? Take a Product Support retainer. The committed days are priced below the card, and work beyond them is invoiced at a discount of 5% to 15% depending on the tier. ### Do you quote a day rate? No. We price by the hour. Where a retainer refers to a day, it means eight hours of the team's time. ### Who decides which roles work on my job? We staff each piece of work with the roles it needs, and the quote lists the roles and the hours for each before the work starts. Each role is invoiced at its own rate. ### When do you invoice? Hourly work is invoiced monthly in arrears for the hours worked. A retainer is invoiced monthly, and a fixed-fee engagement is invoiced on booking. ## The engagements these rates sit beside - [Product Support](/services/product-support/) — Retainer · Committed days, priced below the card - [AI Visibility Management](/services/ai-visibility-management/) — Monthly service · Two engineering days a month included - [Services](/services/) — Overview · Every engagement and its fee - [Project estimator](/estimate/) — Try it · A range for a build before you call ## Have a piece of work in mind? Send us the brief and we will reply with a quote that lists the roles and the hours. - [Book a call](https://calendly.com/cameron-at-national-digital/discovery) - [Send an enquiry](/contact/) - Email: enquiries@nationaldigital.com.au - Phone: 1300 800 855 ## Related **Parent:** - [Senior engineering, end to end.](/okf/services.md) **Related:** - [National Digital - Custom Software, AI & Platforms](/okf/home.md) - [Talk to an engineer.](/okf/contact.md) - [Careers at National Digital](/okf/careers.md) - [Graduate Full-Stack Web Developer](/okf/australia-remote-graduate-full-stack-developer.md) - [Senior Software Engineer (Frontend)](/okf/australia-remote-senior-software-engineer-frontend.md) - [Senior Software Engineer (Backend)](/okf/australia-remote-senior-software-engineer-backend.md) - [Privacy Policy](/okf/privacy.md) - [Website Terms of Service](/okf/terms.md) - [Accessibility Statement](/okf/accessibility.md) - [Small team. Serious platforms.](/okf/about.md) - [Real platforms, in production.](/okf/case-studies.md) - [Civic software we build and run](/okf/projects.md) - [Senior engineering, end to end.](/okf/services.md) - [Knowledge library.](/okf/expertise.md) - [QA & Test Automation Engineer](/okf/australia-remote-qa-automation-engineer.md) - [Booking systems built around your operation.](/okf/booking-systems.md) - [Custom software, built by senior engineers.](/okf/custom-software.md) - [AI that survives contact with production.](/okf/ai-automation-services.md) - [NewBook Integration & Custom Development](/okf/newbook-integration.md) - [cruisePAL (Resco) Integration & Custom Development](/okf/cruisepal-integration.md) - [Customer portal development, built around your access rules.](/okf/customer-portals.md) - [An Australian software development company you can talk to directly.](/okf/software-development-company.md) - [Custom appointment scheduling, built for how your service actually books.](/okf/appointment-scheduling-systems.md) - [Venue booking systems built around your capacity, not a vendor's template.](/okf/venue-booking-systems.md) - [Web application development for products that have to hold up.](/okf/web-application-development.md) - [AI agent development that answers, escalates and knows its limits.](/okf/ai-agent-development.md) - [Document and workflow automation, wired into the systems you already run.](/okf/document-workflow-automation.md) - [AI consulting from the engineers who would have to build it.](/okf/ai-consulting.md) - [Governance and Credentials](/okf/governance.md) - [Information Security and Privacy Statement](/okf/governance/information-security-and-privacy.md) - [Quality Policy](/okf/governance/quality-policy.md) - [Work Health and Safety Policy](/okf/governance/work-health-and-safety-policy.md) - [Modern Slavery and Ethical Sourcing Statement](/okf/governance/modern-slavery-and-ethical-sourcing.md) - [Environmental Policy](/okf/governance/environmental-policy.md) - [What will it cost to build?](/okf/estimate.md) - [Product Development Plan](/okf/services/product-development-plan.md) - [Replacing a legacy booking system — without losing a booking.](/okf/legacy-booking-system-replacement.md) - [Product Support](/okf/services/product-support.md) - [Platform Health Check](/okf/services/platform-health-check.md) - [AI Automation Assessment](/okf/services/ai-automation-assessment.md) - [Technology Roadmap](/okf/services/technology-roadmap.md) - [An AI automation assessment that ranks the work and trains your team](/okf/ai-automation-assessment.md) - [Connect an AI assistant](/okf/agents.md) - [AI Visibility Management](/okf/services/ai-visibility-management.md)